Eruption
by zElliexmagic
Summary: Whenever there's a threat, Fairy Tail is always on their enemy's heels, chasing them back. They are always confident that they'd win and they never back down. However, they can't fight this new threat, and they're only chance of survival is to run. NaLu (GaLe at the beginning) Spoiler alert for the Lumen Historie/Fairy Heart!
1. Chapter 1

**Here's the first chapter everybody! I hope you enjoy it!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail**

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Eruption (Ch. 1)

"Congratulations, Gajeel and Levy!"

When the two had walked in the guild hall holding hands, everyone knew it was that time. People past around their betting money, some of them groaning, but most of up in joy. Lucy launched herself at Levy, hugging her small figure tightly and demanding details on what had happened. Levy shyly gave in, but in small whispers and dark blushes.

Gajeel however, awkwardly shook people's hands and even hugged a few of his guild mates. After a moment, Natsu had pulled him aside, privately. To talk about what, Lucy had no idea, but she was too engrossed in Levy's story to care.

Cana, of course, suggested that everyone should party and party did them all! The guild drank liquor to their hearts' content and passed out that night.

All Lucy could remember though, was talking to Levy and being handed a drink from Mira. The next thing she knew, she woke up on the guild floor next to a curled up Happy and a massive headache.

"Owwww…" She mumbled as she sluggishly climbed to her feet. The guild hall was a mess: tables thrown everywhere, people were asleep on tables and even each other, and the room stank of booze…Lucy would have to give Mira and Kinana a hand mopping the floors tonight.

Lucy freshened up the best she could in the girls' restroom, before checking the clock: it was nearly noon. Yikes! They must've partied hard last night!

She went outside to get from fresh air and blocked her eyes from the sun. When she turned the corner to sit on a bench, she saw him standing there.

Natsu. He was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed and staring up at the sky with a faraway look in his eyes. It was only when she was a few feet away from him was when he noticed her.

His eyes lit up at the sight of his favorite blonde. Everyone in the guild except for her knew he was in love with her. They kept trying to tell him that Lucy obviously loved in back, but he just wasn't so sure. He didn't want to ruin his friendship with her, but then again, he wanted something so much more. On the other side of the scale, Lucy keeps denying any kind of romantic feelings for him, which makes him even more doubtful, but both Levy, Erza, and Juvia said she had admitted it to them privately one day. Natsu still wasn't sure.

However, he was absolutely sure of one thing: he loved her and he wanted to be with her the rest of his life.

"Hey," she said as she approached him.

"Hey," Lucy looked really pale and sick, which, of course, made him concerned. "Are you okay? You don't look so good." He stood up straight from the wall and set his hand on her forehead before cupping her cheeks to check to temperature. It looked like she was blushing for a moment, but maybe it was just the color flooding back into her cheeks from the warmth of his hands.

"Yeah, I'm fine…I just have a massive hangover," she rubbed her temples. "I don't remember drinking so much." She looked up at him, "did I really…uh…"

He chuckled, "you mean the monster you turn into when you get drunk? Yup."

Lucy sighed. She's heard so many stories of what she's like when she's drunk. For some reason, according to the dragon slayer, she always throws herself at him all night when she drinks. He, Gray, Gajeel, Jet, and Droy always have panic attacks when the girls mention drinking at all. And Natsu tells her everything that happens the following morning.

"Oh man…I'm so sorry, Natsu."

Surprisingly, he chuckled again. "It's okay. I wasn't in the room so I was saved…however, I heard you were running around looking for me so I could give you a piggy-back ride. You wanted me for other stuff too, but when I asked what, Cana just smirked and turned away."  
Lucy sweat dropped. Whatever she said when she was drunk did not support her for trying to convince her friends that she didn't like Natsu. It was hard enough already since she loved him and it was hard not to act like she did around him. She wanted to keep it quiet though and maybe when she gets the courage, she'll confess, but not now.

"Oh well, that's great…I was looking for you…okay then…"

Natsu laughed at her embarrassment.

"So what were you thinking about just now?"

He frowned at her, "huh?"

"When I came out here, you were deep in thought," Lucy then giggled, "you know that's not something you normally do."

"Heh heh…yeah, I know…"

"So what's up?"

"Nothing," Natsu looked away, scratching the back of his head. Lucy knew exactly what that meant: he was nervous, but of what? "It's just…uh…"

"Its okay; you don't have to tell me," she smiled. "I saw you drag Gajeel out of the guild hall last night too. You looked serious. What was that all about?" She then added something she didn't mean to say, but she was curious, "You like Levy or something, Natsu?" She snickered, "you looked a little jealous. I guess Gajeel got to her before you did."

Unexpectedly, Natsu flashed her a hurtful look, before his eyes hardened a second later and he grabbed her forearms.

"Hey! Natsu-"

"Don't think that! I don't want you thinking that I like her because I don't, Lucy! I don't love her and you know it!"

She blinked in shock for a few moments as Natsu's face calmed and he sighed, releasing his grip on her. "Luce listen, I don't like Levy…I love…" He sighed again, "I love-"

*Boom!*

Lucy spun around as Natsu followed her stare up at the sky, where dark clouds loomed over.

"That's weird," Lucy said, wiped sweat off her forehead. Why is it suddenly hot out? It wasn't a moment ago. Maybe it's just because she's standing next to Natsu. "I don't remember the forecast saying there was going to be a storm."

She turned back to Natsu to see his eyes filled with fear, doubt, and worry. He was still staring up at the large, dark clouds.

It was rare to see fear written on his face. So it was clear that something was terribly wrong and it scared her. "Natsu?" When there was no answer, she cupped his cheeks in her hands and forced his eyes on her. "Look at me, Natsu! What's wrong?"

*Boom!*

Both their eyes landed on the dark clouds again that seemed to be already over them.

"I don't think that's a storm, Lucy," Natsu spoke slowly, causing her to turn to him. He sniffed the air and a more panicked look entered his face. "Yeah…that's no storm."

"Then what is it?"

"If I'm right – and let's pray that I'm not – we need to get out of here right now."

"Why?"

* _Boom!_ *

Lucy turned to look at the clouds again as the boom sounded louder than before. Instead of meeting just clouds though, the top Mt. Hakobe exploded, molten lava, ash, and smoke spewed out of it and dripped down the side of the mountain toward Magnolia. Now Lucy knows why it's so hot all of a sudden:

"Mt. Hakobe is a _volcano?!_ When did that happen?!"

"I don't know!" Natsu exclaimed grabbing her hand and pulling her along, "but we've gotta go!"

Fireballs began bombarding Magnolia like bombs and she could already hear the screams. The tears suddenly flowed and she shouted out three words before she could stop herself:

"Natsu, I'm scared!"

She didn't like admitting fear, especially to Natsu. She didn't like showing him how weak she thought of herself, but she knew he'd only say that she's in any way weak and that everyone has their own fear.

Stopping, Natsu turned to her as she clawed at her eyes, trying to keep him from seeing her tears, but he pulled her into his arms and wiped them away with his thumb before leaning down into her ear and whispering, "I'm going to protect you, Luce. I promise. I'm going to get you to safety. Just stay close to me."

She nodded, "o-okay…okay, I trust you."

"Good," he pulled back, smiling despite the situation, and took her hand again, pulling her along quickly, "now let's get our friends!"

"But what about the townspeople?!" They were having to shout now, with the screaming, booming fireballs falling on them, and the ash like rain, they could barely hear each other in their normal voices.

"I don't know!" He replied, "We'll have to see what Gramps says!"

As the two barged into the guild, everyone was already up and moving, panicking. It seemed the First Master, Mavis, appeared, talking seriously with Master Makarov.

"Natsu! Lucy!" Happy flew into them, sobbing with fear. "When I didn't see you two, I got so worried!"  
"We're sorry, Happy," Lucy consoled, "we were just outside."

"Listen up!" Erza shouted, gaining everyone's attention. She and everyone else were afraid, but she acted brave and took charge. "We need to get the villagers to safety! Everyone! We must-"

"No!" Master Makarov yelled, making everyone go silent (except for the chaotic noise outside). It was completely shocking to hear their master refuse to let them go save the villagers. He's never done something like that before.

"G-Gramps?…" Natsu quietly took a step toward him, pulling Lucy with him who continued to hold Happy to her with one hand, and grasp the dragon slayer's hand in the other.

Mavis and Makarov continued to talk to each other, and if the chaos outside wasn't happening, they would be able to hear them. Why were they just standing there?! They had to get the villagers and themselves out of here!

As Mavis handed Makarov a small object, she wished them all the best of luck before vanishing. The Master then cleared his throat and turned to them all.

"Yes, you're right!" He shouted, "We need to get the villagers to safety which is exactly what we'll all do, but there is one small problem: The Lumen Historie!"

Hearing that word made everyone raise their eyebrows. They knew what the Lumen Historie is, but why would that be a problem?

"As you all know, the Lumen Historie is one of the most powerful weapons in Earthland! It cannot be activated under any circumstances! I need one person to take the Lumen Historie out of Magnolia and as far away as they could go from the eruption! It is already hot as it is and if it gets hotter, the heat will automatically set off the Lumen Historie! I need one person to leave immediately as the rest of us stay and help people escape!"

"I'll do it!" Erza shouted, "I'll take Fairy Heart!"

"No! Erza, you need to stay here and help! I have already picked someone for the task. Someone perfect and capable: Lucy!"

Lucy froze, "What?!"

No one argued with him; time was of the essence. Everyone rushed out of the guild hall, leaving the Celestial wizard, the dragon slayer, and the exceed in the guild hall with the master.

Lucy didn't want to go. Yes, she would be safe, but she'll be apart from Fairy Tail. She'll be running cowardly away. While she gets to safety, her family will be standing next to molten lava rushing people to away. She'd be safe without knowing if her friends were still alive. This is Fairy Tail's enemy, but not their typical black wizard; this is a volcano eruption and most of them, if not all of them were going to die.

And Master Makarov was asking Lucy to _run?_

She voiced all this out loud in an argument, but it lasted only a moment when Makarov shouted at her, saying they didn't have time to argue. It was already hot as it was.

Using the object Mavis gave him (that Lucy now saw is a stretcher [a magic item used to shrink and enlarge objects]), Makarov shrunk the Lumen Historie down to a handheld size (almost like a snow globe), slipped into a backpack for Lucy, and gave it her.

She put it on her shoulders and burst into tears.

"Lushee!" Happy bawled along with her, hugging her tightly again. Lucy squeezed back, but soon let go when another eruption sounded. She needed to get going…

…but not without saying goodbye to someone she might not ever see again…

She turned to Natsu, who was just standing there silently, staring at her with fear in his eyes. She knew exactly what he was thinking: this might be the last time they'll ever speak.

Natsu shook his head to clear his uncharacteristic thoughts away, "Luce-"

She grabbed a fist full of his scarf, yanked him to her, and crashed her lips onto his.

At first, he was too stunned to move, but everything faded in the background and he applied the same pressure, caressing her cheeks.

Natsu couldn't remember what was going on around him. All he could think about was how soft her lips were on his, how good she tasted, and most of all, the girl he loved was kissing him.

He wasn't ready for it; he didn't want it to end, but as she pulled back, a small whimper escaped from his mouth.

He blinked, confused at why she did so at first, but as soon as he saw her tears, everything clicked back into place. However, it immediately went out the door again when she said four words:

"I love you, Natsu."

His world froze and everything around was motionless. He couldn't believe she just said that. It made his heart beat fast, his brain hum, and his lung quit on him. He was pretty sure he had just gone blind too, but he couldn't see anything except for her beautiful face smiling at him. However, it all vanished though as soon as he received a slap to the face.

"Natsu!" It was Happy who was hovering in front of him, pulling him from cloud nine. "We've gotta go!"

As Happy pulled him along out of the guild, Natsu looked back at where Master Makarov was – he was gone. His eyes searched franticly, but his favorite blonde was nowhere to be found.

He realized what was happening again; everything clicked again and he realized that he was never going to see his favorite person ever again.

" _LUCY!_ "

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 **I feel weird making them canon on the very first chapter of my story, but it's okay because I have plans! I hope you enjoyed this!**

 **-zEllie**


	2. Chapter 2

**I hope you all enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail**

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Eruption (Ch. 2)

It was still so hot that Lucy almost wanted to take off all her clothes in the middle of the forest, but she couldn't care less if she looked like a sweating pig. Even though she could hear all the screams and explosions behind her, she didn't look back. Even though her lungs were burning and her legs were begging her to stop, she wouldn't as tears streamed down her face.

" _LUCY!_ "

As the loud scream echoed through the woods, Lucy let out a loud sob, but she continued pushing on, even though she knew exactly who that was. She was temped to stop, turn, and look back at the burning city that held her friends, her family, helpless townspeople, and her love, but Lucy knew that if she did that, she'd run back to them and Fairy Heart would go off.

So, instead, she pressed onward, picturing all their smiling faces in her mind and tried to pretend that they all weren't about to die. She knew this was Fairy Tail and that they don't easily go down, but…this is a _volcano_. Some of Fairy Tail, if not most of them – or _all_ of them – were going to die.

And as much as she didn't want to admit it, Natsu might be one of the first people to die…

Lava always appeared to most people as fire, but in actuality, it's mostly water and Natsu couldn't eat it. He would most likely attempt to eat it, thinking it was his element, and it would kill him. Even if he knew better, he would put himself at risk to save others, meaning he could possibly die.

As much as Lucy didn't want to admit it, Natsu might not make it out of there…

Natsu was probably going to die…

There were screams of agony behind her and she choked on her tears as she continued to run through the forest.

"Hold on!" She exclaimed out loud, stopping her feet to observe her surrounding. She dried her tears so she could see: " _I can cry later_." Looking around her, she bit her lip, "I should be going to Hargeon! It's the closest town to Magnolia! Right now, I'm on the road to Bosco!"

Looking up the ash-filled sky, Lucy realized she couldn't go back. If she did, she'd be caught in the ash and Fairy Heart would self-activate. It looks like she'd be going to Bosco.

Lucy was panting hard, but she begun to run again anyway, going northwest toward Bosco.

When Lucy was well out of the range of the eruption, she slowed down to a walk. It was still hot out, but not as bad as before; she could still hear the explosions and screams from miles and miles away, but they were very faint. When night fell, Lucy hugged the backpack containing the Lumen Historie to her as she rested against the trunk of a tree.

As many times as she closed her eyes, she couldn't sleep. Natsu, screaming her name, echoed through her mind over and over as she let the tears run down her face again. Everyone she ever loved was gone and she was all alone.

" _No! They can't be dead! They can't be! They're Fairy Tail! They've gotta be alive, Lucy! You can't keep thinking like this!_ "

She wiped her eyes, but the tears kept falling and she still couldn't sleep…

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When she reached Bosco the next day at noon, she was physically and mentally exhausted. Lucy hadn't eaten or drunk anything for one and a half days and it was finally taking a toll on her. Not to mention she probably stank and in dire need of a shower; plus, she was covered in sweat and dirt and looked half dead on the street.

Seeing her situation, Lucy was able to understand all the people staring at her, whispering:

"Woah! Look at her! What happened?!"

"Is she okay?"

"She looks like she's about to keel over."

"Was she attacked?"

"Should we help her?"

When she couldn't take another step, she collapsed onto the sidewalk, barely conscious.

"Woah! Miss! Are you okay?! Answer me!" Someone shook her.

"Is she breathing?!"

"Somebody get help!"

"Hold on! Look at the mark on her hand! She's a Fairy Tail mage!"

"Go get the wizards at the guild hall up ahead! Bring them here!"

Running feet and panicked voices were all she heard before she lost consciousness.

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Natsu had accidently inhaled a lot of ash, making it extremely difficult to breathe, but after drinking a potion Porlyusica handed to him, he ended up being okay.

Everyone had wounds, but surprisingly, all the Fairy Tail members made it out alive. However, only half of the Magnolia's townsfolk survived; they all mourned and licked their wounds.

Everyone was held up in Hargeon, having their wounds taken care of by the nurses and doctors from the local hospital who ran every which way. Everyone gave the survivors space, but stood at the sidelines to watch the aftermath.

Master Makarov was busy explaining everything to the mayor of Hargeon, who listened with horror inflicted in his eyes.

Wendy ran every which way, physically and mentally exhausted, but ignored Carla's protests as her wounded hands limply shook over Mira's body who was telling her to stop.

Porlyusica was making tonics after tonics as fast as she could to help people. Like Natsu, some people had inhaled ash, and would die if not treated with immediately. Erza was one of them, along with Gray, Laxus, Elfman, and many more.

"Wendy! You need to rest!"

This wasn't Carla or Mira who said this and when the sky dragon slayer looked up, she was delighted and surprised to see who it was:

"Shelia!"

"Hey there!" the sky god slayer smiled, "Lamia Scale heard what happened and we came as fast as we could to help you."

"G-great!" Wendy smiled, weakly. "Now everyone would be healed twice as fast!"

"You need to rest," Shelia repeated, sticking her hands over Cana's body to heal her as a nurse applied ointment to her burns. "Let me handle the healing, Wendy."

"If you're going to be that way," Wendy pouted, "fine, but I'm not sleeping. Heal me. That way, I'll have enough magic energy and strength to keep going."

Knowing she wasn't going to win, Shelia nodded, letting the nurse finish with Cana as she moved to Wendy.

Gray coughed and hacked with the ash in his lungs was disintegrating thanks to Porlyusica's potion. He could breathe now, but it was still difficult as the alchemy worked its magic.

A cold hand landed on his shoulder and Gray turned around.

"It's going to be okay, Gray."

"L-Lyon?" His voice was hoarse and he coughed, drinking more of the potion.

Lyon created ice and rubbed it against his burns. Gray was probably the least wounded person – not counting the ash in his lungs – because they were only first degree burns.

"J-Juvia," Gray hacked, "I-is s-she?…"

"She's okay, Gray," with a squeeze of the shoulder, he pointed behind him. "She's over there with Sherry. She's taking care of her."

Gray tried to hide it, but a single tear leaked out of his eye as he coughed, "t-thank you…"

Lyon smirked, "you're such a crybaby, Gray." He chuckled.

Natsu sat against the wall silently with a blank expression on his face. The bottle of the potion had about a quarter left in it and the dragon slayer only brought it to his lips when his breath caught in his throat for a moment. Other than that, he wasn't moving. There were too many thoughts going through his head.

"N-Natsu?"

Slowly, the fire dragon slayer turned his head to his blue, furry companion whose wounds had been tended to, but he was just as exhausted as everyone else was.

Happy was crying, "a-are you okay?"

Natsu didn't say anything as he sipped on the potion again. There was no point to say anything. It was obvious he wasn't. A volcano just destroyed Magnolia and they all had their fair share of wounds. Of course, he wasn't okay.

However, Natsu knew that's not what Happy meant.

Looking down at the ground, Natsu mumbled honestly, "I…I don't know…"

He was torn and livid, disappointed and angry with himself. Lucy was gone and he never had the guts to return her feeling. He failed protecting her and now she's gone…but at the same time, he was so excited and eager to get on his feet and search every corner of Earthland for her if it took the rest of his life just so he could hold her in his arms and say three words to her.

"You never told her, did you?"

Looking over a few feet away against the wall, Gajeel, who also had inhaled ash, had spoken. He still had wounds, but he was talking clearly, which meant all the ash in his lungs were gone. The potion Porlyusica gave him lie empty next to him. Levy was completely healed thanks to Wendy and was sleeping peacefully against Gajeel's shoulder with his arm around her.

"We had a deal, Salamander."

A week ago, Natsu and Gajeel accidently told each other that they were in love with Lucy and Levy. Gajeel challenged that he had the guts to confess to Levy first, and of course, Natsu took the bet, but his knees shook every time he got near Lucy. When the party for Gajeel and Levy's relationship started, Natsu pulled the iron dragon slayer into a private room, grumpily paid Gajeel what he owed, and asked him how he did it:

" _I've been having flashbacks lately,_ " he had said, " _I keep thinking about that day I crucified Shrimp on the Sola Tree in the middle of Southgate Park…It made me think that, one day, something disastrous could happen and one of us could die…I don't want to live the rest of my life knowing she never knew how I felt or visa versa. That's what drove me to do it. If I were you, Salamander, tell Bunny Girl before it's too late._ "

"It looks like its too late, Salamander," he scoffed, though there was no reason to rub it in his face. Gajeel was just… _disappointed_ in him. "I warned you…I _warned_ you."

If he had witnessed the kiss Natsu and Lucy shared and the celestial wizard's confession, his harsh words would be two-times worse. Knowing that Natsu never replied to her is just pitiful…at least that's what Gajeel would say.

Instead of snapping and picking a fight like he would usually do, Natsu just looked ashamed, "I know…I know…"

"She's dead now," Gajeel said with slight look of sympathy in his eyes, "and you never told her…"

Natsu bit his lip, not exactly understanding what he was feeling. It was a dark mixture of a healthy dose of anger and another one of sorrow.

Gajeel's last words made Happy's tears run faster as he looked in horror at his father-figure who was suddenly fascinated with the leftover liquid in his bottle.

"N-Natsu?…D-do you think…Lushee's… _dead?_ " The last word was nearly a whisper, but Natsu heard it.

"No," he said immediately, but quietly, "Lucy is not dead."

Happy sniffed; it was taking every ounce of sanity the exceed had left to not explode in a sobbing mess. "T-then…what are you going to do?"

Natsu stood up with sudden determination in his eyes, but this determination was expected:

"I'm going to get her back."

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Lucy managed to slowly open her eyes. Her entire body ached all over, but the pain proved that she was still alive. If she was in Heaven, there wouldn't be any. Like her mother, Lucy didn't believe in a heaven with pain.

She was still tired, but it was bearable now. She begun to sit up until her stomach screamed at her causing her to yelp and lie back down.

"Take it easy, Lucy!" A sweet, soft, feminine voice sounded.

"O-ow…"

The blonde looked around the room, realizing she was in a warm, white, linen bed and she could smell soup.

" _Food_ ," Lucy licked her lips, hearing her stomach growl madly as it tried to eat itself. She was unbelievably thirsty too.

A glass of water met her lips first and a hand was placed on her back to help her sit up to drink. The glass was gone within moments, but Lucy was still thirsty. Before she could ask for some more from the woman helping her, a spoonful of soup met her lips. When the bowl was gone, Lucy was still hungry, but it was bearable now. She wasn't starving and dying of thirst anymore.

"Are you alright?"

Turning to her left, Lucy felt a relieved smile growing on her face, "Y-Yukino! W-where am I?"

"You're in the Sabertooth sickbay," Yukino replied. "Everyone's been worried sick! What happened?!"

As a reminder, Lucy began to tear up again, "There was a volcano eruption in Magnolia."

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 **And the pressure worsens…XD**

 **-zEllie**


	3. Chapter 3

**Happy New Year everyone! 2017 is going to be a great year! My goal is to finish my original fiction novel and as many of my FanFiction series as I can before December 31** **st** **. What's your guys' goals?**

 **Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I don't own Fairy Tail XD**

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Eruption (Ch. 3)

Yukino along with Sting, Rogue, Minerva, Lector, and Frosch stared at Lucy in absolute horror as she told – in tears – what happened in Magnolia less than seventy-two hours ago.

It was deadly silent when Lucy finished, except for her sobs that echoed through the sickbay. When it was finally broken, Sting sighed, rubbing his temples that throbbed with the stressing news.

"Alright," the new Sabertooth guild master spoke, "where's the Lumen Historie now, Yukino?"

"Right here," The Celestial Spirit wizard picked up Lucy's backpack that was sitting at next to the bed. "It's in here."

"Keep it safe here and stay with Lucy," The White Dragon Slayer stood up, making his way toward the door with Lector following, "Rogue and Minerva, you and I are heading to what's left of Magnolia to see if there were some survivors. We'll bring Rufus and Orga with us."

"No!" Lucy shouted, wiping her tears away, shoving the sheets back, and swinging her feet to the side of the bed. "Take me with you! I wanna go!"

"Woah! Lucy!" Minerva shook her head, "you can't! You're still recovering and-"

Lucy stood up, straight and without wobbling. She looked over at Sting and gave him a convincing look of confidence. "I wanna go with you guys! I have a right too!"

Everybody looked at Sting as he sighed, giving in, "alright fine. Yukino, you can come too, but I want Lector and Frosch to stay here with the Lumen Historie."

"You can count on us, Sting!" Lector took the backpack, smiling.

"Fro thinks so too!"

"We'll be leaving shortly," Sting looked as Lucy. "Are you sure you want to come? They…might not…"

"Yes," Lucy nodded. "If my friends didn't survive, I'd know even if I didn't go anyway because you'd have to come back and tell me. I just want to see for myself."

Sting nodded.

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Natsu pushed the door open so hard and so fast that when it hit the wall, it put a large dent in it. He stomped down the hotel hallway toward the front doors with eyes that were wild and determined and nothing was stopping him. However, he was only able to get a couple of feet away.

"Natsu!" Erza shouted, "stop! Come back!"

"No!"

"Natsu!" Makarov growled angrily, following him into the hall. The old man internally groaned at the damage done to the wall, knowing that he would have to pay for it later. The hotel owners were kind enough to give all of Fairy Tail free rooms for as long as they wanted as they licked their wounds. Natsu was all better now and his mind was fixed on the person he loved most. "I know you want to find her, but you can't-"

"No!" Natsu spun on his heels, looking Gramps in the eyes, "don't tell me what I can't do! I'm going after her!"

"Natsu," Gramps sighed; just like the rest of Fairy Tail, he too shipped Natsu and Lucy. When he witnessed the kiss and Lucy's confession, the look in Natsu's eyes said it all. "I know you want to find her," he repeated, "but now is not the time. I know you're healed, but some of us still need medical attention and we stick together."

"I don't care!" Natsu shouted. "I can't just sit here doing nothing when I know she's out there wandering around! She probably thinks we're all dead!"

"And most of us think she is too."

Natsu opened his mouth to shout back, but as Makarov's words processed into his brain, his words died on his lips. How can the guild just think Lucy's dead?

"I don't believe she's dead," Makarov says. "If she was, the Lumen Historie would've gone off."

Natsu's eyes hardened, "that's not why I believe she's still alive. If she was dead, I'd feel my heart break, even if I didn't witness it, I'd just know."  
He smiled gently, "I know. Natsu, I know you want to find her, but we should all heal and then look together. We'll cover more ground that way. Lucy will be fine for the time being."

Natsu looked down at the ground, his breath suddenly came out in pants and he shook his head, "I…I just wanna _see_ her."

"I know."

Natsu shook his head harder before turning around, "I'm sorry, Gramps."

"Natsu!"

The dragon slayer was gone, out the door and out of sight.

It was dark out, nighttime, but Natsu was able to see perfectly thanks to the moonlight and his enhanced dragon eyes. He was running toward the train station; he knew Lucy wasn't in Hargeon right now. If she was, she would have been with them when the nurses were running around healing them. The next town over was Onibas and that was where he was going first.

"Natsu! Wait!"

That was undoubtedly Happy's voice, but Natsu didn't stop or turn around; he just kept running. "Don't try to stop me, Happy!"

"I'm not trying to stop you! I'm coming with you!"

Natsu smiled, "well hurry up then, would ya?!"

"Aye sir!"

On the train, Natsu was so focused on finding Lucy, he wasn't as motion sick as he normally should be.

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It was barely dawn by the time the train stopped at Onibas and it didn't take long for the motion sickness to pass. Natsu was on his feet again, ready to find Lucy.

"Happy, look from the skies," he ordered before taking off in a run.

"Aye!"

When Happy disappeared into the sky, Natsu sniffed the air, trying to get even the _tiniest_ hint of his favorite person's scent.

Dang it! There were too many people around!

He relied on his eyes instead, looking around for blonde hair. There were a lot of blonde women at the train station, but Natsu left that to Happy. It would be a waste of time going to each and every one of them when he could be looking somewhere else. He ran off toward a different part of town.

"If I was Lucy, where would I be?" He muttered to himself. "…the library."

He turned to run before stopping and hitting himself in the head. Lucy wouldn't be at the library after a volcano eruption. She would be at the market. Master Makarov didn't pack any food when he handed her that backpack; all that was in there was Fairy Heart. She was probably starving and buying food.

Turning, he was in the marketplace in less than a minute. He called out Lucy's name, drawing many people's attention to him, but he didn't care. Lucy didn't reply. She either didn't hear him or she wasn't there.

He began running around again, sniffing the air, calling her name, and looking for blonde.

"Excuse me, sir? Are you looking for someone?"

There was an old man running one of the market stalls that had vegetables with him. Natsu hadn't eaten in a while and he didn't notice how hungry he was until he saw the food, but he didn't ask to buy. Even if he did, he didn't have any money.

"Yeah, have you seen a girl named Lucy?" Natsu asked. "She's a Fairy Tail wizard and has celestial keys with her. She's tall, blonde, seventeen, brown eyes…gorgeous…"

Sadly, the old man shook his head, "no, I'm sorry, I haven't seen her, but if I do, I'll contact Fairy Tail immediately."

"Thank you, I appreciate it," Natsu tossed him a smile before running off again. " _I'm going to find you, Luce…where are you?_ "

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 **Halfway through this, I realized I put a "Lost" quote in here. XD My mom and I are on season four and I'm still angry at the writers for killing off Charlie. He was one of my favorite characters…anyway, I have this brilliant idea of a series I got from the latest manga chapter (516) and I'm going to post a teaser trailer for it. It's going to be called, "Where is END?" OH GOSH, I LOVE IT! I CAN'T WAIT TO WRITE IT! After the teaser trailer, my brother wants me to post a chapter of "Bloody Child" and I promised my friend I would post a chapter of "Little Red Riding Hood". After that, you'll get the second chapter of "Beauty and the Beast"…and from there on, I don't know. XD**

 **-zEllie**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey guys! I'm sorry it's been a while (it seems like I'm saying that a lot lately). I've been busy with life and afterwards, I went into depression. I'm still in it and my emotions really affect the way I write. If I'm angry, my characters – well, they aren't my characters, they're Hiro Mashima's but you know what I mean – will be angry. If I'm happy, their happy. In my depression, Natsu and Lucy will be depressed in my stories, but since this story has a lot of that depressing feeling, I'm going to use this to my advantage! I don't really know how long I'll be depressed, but you'll probably get a lot of chapters in this story, at least until I feel better.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail**

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Eruption (Ch. 4)

That dead hope welling up inside of her put tears in her eyes…it sickened her. Lucy knew it was a fools' errand: going to Magnolia to look for survivors. There was a blasted volcano eruption! There wouldn't _be_ any survivors, but there will be burnt corpses…and that's what she was afraid of.

You can tell who a corpse was by taking a DNA sample, but what if one turned out to be one of her friends?

She wiped the tears away as they formed at the corner of her eyes and looked out the window before the prime members of Sabertooth could notice. They were inside a carriage, taking a bumpy, but less exhausting way to travel. Running for three days really took it out of the blonde; she would've taking the carriage any day.

That dead hope swelled even more…

She hoped and prayed that she would find her friends who survived there. She hoped that they had found a place to hide before the lava reached them. She hoped that she would fine them and reunited with them again…but she knew that no one would be there. Even if there _were_ survivors, they wouldn't be there. They would've left. She knew that no one was there…

But still, she hoped. That dead hope still keeping her heart pumping with dread.

"We're almost there," Sting announced, bringing her out of the cold, bitter thoughts, but that dead hope was still there.

" _Please…_ " She begged, mentally. She didn't know who she was possibly talking to and she didn't know what exactly she was begging for, but she pleaded anyway, " _oh please…please…_ "

She knew they wouldn't be there, but she couldn't help hope anyway.

It was five dreadful minutes later when she realized the carriage had stopped and she was the first one out of it.

The sight was dreadful.

There was nothing, but ash, ash everywhere. Somewhere behind her, Yukino gasped and she vaguely heard Rogue say that they were still in Magnolia's forest, but just on the border.

Mt. Hakobe did _this_ to the forest?! There wasn't anything left of the trees! Everything was ash! Magnolia was closer to the volcano than the forest was. If it did _this_ to the forest, what about the town? The guild hall?  
Lucy took off running.

The ash had cooled over the past four cold nights, making it only a little difficult to walk through. It was like snow, but not as cold.

"Lucy!" Minerva had shouted and she could hear the others running after her. As they went up the hill, Lucy realized that dead hope was partially a reality.

There, in fact, _were_ people…

But not Fairy Tail…

"I want every corpse found from every house and brought here!" Captain Lahar commanded the reinforcement unit. His trusty friend, co-worker, and assistant, Doranbolt, stood next to him. "We need to know who all has passed away."

Lucy's eyes wandered Magnolia: the buildings were still there, but all the paint and shingles were ripped off. All the wood had been burned; what was left of the houses were just barely on their last leg, about to collapse any minute now. Despite that, the ground was still ash, the roofs were still ash, everything was still ash and there were no survivors around. Only the Magic Council, carefully moving statues of solid ash and bones to the tents for DNA tests.

"Mest!" Lucy called out, not knowing his real name and vaguely forgetting Lahar's. "Mest!"

Doranbolt's eyebrows went up as he looked around. Nobody ever called him that anymore, at least not after the Key of the Starry Heavens incident. Only Fairy Tail called him that during his infiltration.

"Who in the… _Lucy?!_ " He gapped like a fish as the blonde Celestial Wizard ran up to him. He was about to bombard her with questions until he saw Sting not far behind her. It seems she was with Sabertooth during the eruption.

Before he could ask what she was doing here, Lucy had opened her mouth quicker: "have you found any survivors?!"

What? Was she insane?

It wasn't him who answered. "No," Lahar replied, "this was a very powerful, dormant volcano. Nobody would've survived this for miles. You're lucky you did, Lucy."

"W-what?" Lucy's eyes widened. No survivors for _miles?!_ Fairy Tail would've never made it…

Rogue spoke up, "have you found any of Fairy Tail's corpses though? If there were no survivors, you would have to at least found some of them."

"We haven't found any Fairy Tail Wizards yet," Doranbolt said, "but Lucy…we found your landlady's body…"

In all honestly, Lucy didn't even like her landlady, she was mean and selfish, but still, it broke her heart to hear of her passing….

"The first place we looked was the Fairy Tail guild hall, we didn't find any bodies, but we'll be sure to find them elsewhere. When we find them, we'll go to Sabertooth and let you know, Lucy. We promise," Doranbolt, despite his position in the Magic Council, he had always been a fan of Fairy Tail. What they believed in and their doctrine, even though it went against him and the council, was the thing he liked most about the guild. It broke his heart as much as it broke Lucy's, but he was glad at least one of them had survived.

Tears slid down Lucy's face; no one survived? No one at all? Just her? "C-can I look in the guild hall?"

"Of course not!" Lahar said, "we don't want you going in there! The building could collapse on you and we don't want you in our way-"

"Of course you can," Doranbolt interrupted, ignoring the incredulous look Lahar was giving him. "Just be careful."

Lucy nodded, wiping her tears and ran off. She didn't know whether or not Sabertooth was following, but she didn't care. She just had to see for herself.

Lucy could tell the guild was about to collapse, like more of the buildings left standing in Magnolia, but she went in anyway. When she entered the guild hall, she lost her breath: There was hardly anything left of it except for the posts barely holding it up. She could make out outlines with all the stone left for her to see the bar and the stage. It was all nearly completely desolated. There were debris and dirt covering the ground and Lucy found the tears slipping down again.

The good news was there was not one burnt corpse in the guild, but of course not. She heard Master say that they were going to evacuate the townspeople. Of course none of her friends would be here…but that didn't mean they weren't dead…

The library was totaled; not a single book in sight. The cabinets in the kitchen and the tables in the main hall were ash. Not one single flag of their emblem stood out, not even their name…

There was nothing left of Fairy Tail…There was nothing left of her home…

Collapsing on her knees she began to let go of her river of tears, gasping for breath as she sobbed.

When she looked up what felt like hours later, something white and shiny caught her eye. It was in the debris of the fallen roof that had caved it. The sun was shining through as if saying it was a beautiful day…

Tsk…Yeah, a beautiful day…

The sun lit up the white, causing it to shine into her eyes. She shielded her chocolate pupils and curiously crawled over to it, not finding the mental strength to tell herself to stand up and walk.

It was dirty except for the part shining at her. Lucy had to move a rock and a wooden beam in order to be able to pull it out. It was long like a snake and even scaly like one too.

Wait…

Scaly?

…

Oh no…

"No…no, no…no, no, no…" The tears appeared back into her eyes and she frantically brushed the dirt away with her hands, praying it wasn't what she thought it was. The white began to show more and more. "Oh no, no, no, no, no, please no…no…"

Her prayers were answered, but the answer wasn't what she wanted:

It was Natsu's scarf…

Natsu is…dead?

"No! No!" Pushing the scarf aside, she threw herself on the pile of debris, clawing at the rocks and pushing them aside. Natsu had to be in there! He had to be!

"Lucy, cut it out," It was Sting's voice; it was scratched up and full of sorrow and sympathy, but she completely ignored it. She could barely hear Lector, Frosch, and Yukino crying in the background.

Lucy suddenly cut her hand on a jagged rock, but she continued to dig and pull and push and dig and pull and push…Natsu was buried under this rubble! She had to get him out!

"Lucy…"

"Natsu! Natsu, hang on; I'm going to get you out of there!" Her hands were going raw and the tears blurred her vision.

"Lucy, stop!"

Sting had grabbed a hold of her, an arm around the waist and chest, and forcefully pulled her away from the rubble.

"No! Natsu!" Lucy cried, fighting him, but the white dragon slayer's strength was great.

"Lucy, stop it," Sting tried again, managing to get her to go limp in his arms. "Natsu's gone…they all are…"

Lucy hiccupped, swallowing tears that had flowed into her mouth; she had suddenly wanted to grasp something, to hold onto something and not let go. So she turned toward Sting and enveloped him in her arms, sobbing and screaming.

"I'm sorry," Tears stung his own eyes as he hugged the celestial wizard. "I'm so sorry…"

Lucy could feel Frosch set a gentle paw on her leg, the tears and shivers of the exceed caused vibrations in them both, "I-it'll be okay…" she slowly said.

Will it?...Will it, really?...

No…no, it won't…

It felt like an eternity, with Rufus, Rogue, and Orga standing quietly in the back, the silent, mournful cries of Yukino, Minerva, and Lector, and Lucy, sobbing and screaming louder than she ever has with Sting holding her tightly and Frosch snuggled against her leg. An eternity of sorrow was what it felt like: Natsu was gone, Happy was gone, Levy, Mira, Erza, Gray, Wendy, Cana, Master, Laxus…they were all gone…they were all dead.

Somehow, Lucy found the willpower to let go of Sting and actually stand up. No one could see her eyes because her bangs were covering them, but Sabertooth watched as Lucy walked over to Natsu's scarf, bent down to pick it up, wrap it around her neck, and lift her head to look at them. She hiccupped, still crying, but quieter; her eyes were visible now…and bloodshot:

"Let's *hic*…L-let's go back to the Sabertooth g-guild hall…There is no point in b-being here anymore…T-there's nothing, but sorrow…"

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Natsu and Happy had searched three entire towns in one and a half days, and according to the dragon slayer's poor math skills, that means it takes twelve hours to completely search a town for one blonde celestial mage. Natsu was beyond exhausted, not to mention frustrated; he hadn't been able to catch a whiff of Lucy's scent for even a _moment!_

"Na~tsu~," Happy slumped downward next to the pink haired man, following him around. "I don't meant to complain, but I'm starving! We haven't eaten all day; can't we stop at a restaurant?"

"We can't even if I wanted to; we don't have any money."

"There's fish in lakes and ponds. We can eat from there."

"Okay then, why don't you go catch some fish and bring them back to me to fry?"

"Why not come with me?"

"I gotta keep looking for Lucy."

"Natsu, listen," Happy flew in front of him, halting him in his tracks, "I want to find Lucy just as much as you do, but we're exhausted; we can't keep going like this! We need a break."

"I can't!" Natsu ran his fingers through his hair, grinding his teeth together, "I can't just sit around and take a break! She's probably…. _who knows_ where she is! I need to find her and make sure she's okay!"  
"I want that too," Happy countered, "but if we keep exhausting ourselves, it'll take us longer to find her than simply taking a break for a while."

That was true, but Natsu was never one to just sit and that was just simply taking Lucy out of the problem entirely. Natsu never sat around and took breaks, he never waited; he always ran through obstacles until he reached his goal.

However, this was about finding Lucy as fast as he could and Happy was right: it'll take longer to find her if they exhausted themselves rather than take a breather for a day.

He wanted to find Lucy and faster meant taking a breather.

Sighing, Natsu agreed to let Happy lead him to the nearest lake, he had to admit that he was starving to.

"Alright, let's go…"

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 **Now, before you review, yes, I know you're thinking "when did Natsu lose his scarf?". Well, it was during the unwritten chapters of the evacuation of Magnolia as the volcano was erupting. I really stink at writing fight scenes which included the hectic volcano eruption and since the first chapter of this story was poorly written when it came to the volcano, I just decided to avoid it, but as I look at this story, I had intentionally decided this to be about a volcano eruption and the aftermath…not** _ **just**_ **the aftermath. This is short, it's supposed to be about 10 chapters so when I finish and probably take a break from it, I'll go back and add one or two chapters more at the beginning so you can read the** _ **actual**_ **volcano eruption and during those chapters, you'll see how Natsu lost his scarf.**

 **-zEllie**


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